I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the analysis and blending of motor vehicle fuels.
II. Description of the Prior Art
The problem of tailoring motor vehicle fuels, especially gasoline octane, to the needs of various consumer vehicles has long been apparent. Solutions have included providing a number of different gasoline pumps at a single retail outlet so that the consumer may select the pump which dispenses the fuel best suited to a vehicle""s requirements and blending pumps which blend a high octane component such as alkylate with a low octane gasoline according to an octane dialed into the dispensing pump. Recently, this situation has been complicated by mandated gasoline formulations as dictated by Congress and various states, and by different tax treatments granted to ethanol, methanol, and other replenishable fuel components in different states. Also, legislation in specifying maximum Reid vapor pressure (RVP) in various locals has become popular and must be balanced against the need for some minimum RVP in order to ensure starting of the motor vehicle in cold weather and cold climates. Taken altogether these motorist demands and government regulations can best be satisfied by blending gasoline from more than two components and by blending as close to the point of sale as possible.
Recent advances in octane determination include U.S. Pat. No. 4,800,279 to Hieftje et.al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,963,745 to S. M. Maggard; J. J. Kelley et.al., 61 Analytical Chemistry 313-320, Feb. 15, 1989; and European Patent Office document 285,251 of October 1988. Reid vapor pressure can be analyzed intermittently or continuously by Reid Monitor No. 44770 by Precision Scientific Inc., Chicago.
Accordingly, the present invention provides an apparatus for blending and dispensing customized fuel to a vehicle in response to a bar code on the vehicle comprising multiple fuel component storage means connective with individual conduit means, a mixing means, for blending said fuel, fluidly connective with said storage means, and producing a blended or customized fuel, at least one analyzing means operatively associated with at least one individual fuel component, said mixing means or said blended fuel, a fuel dispensing means comprising a bar code reader fluidly connective with said mixing means, a bar code on said vehicle, one or more computer means, receiving inputs from said bar code reader on said fuel dispensing means, for determining the fuel requirements of said vehicle based upon said bar code on said vehicle and for controlling the blending of fuel to produce said blended fuel required by, or specified for, said vehicle based upon said bar code on said vehicle and a display means displaying at least one of cost, volume or properties of said customized fuel delivered to said vehicle in response to said bar code on said vehicle.
In another embodiment, the present invention provides a process for blending and dispensing a customized fuel to a vehicle in response to a bar code on the vehicle comprising maintaining multiple fuel component storage means connective with individual conduit means and metering means, reading a bar code on said vehicle and using one or more computer means, receiving inputs from said bar code reader, to determine the fuel requirements of said vehicle, blending a fuel for said vehicle by mixing in a mixing means connective with said fuel component storage means to produce a blended fuel, dispensing said customized fuel into said vehicle, displaying at least one of cost, volume, or properties of said customized fuel dispensed to said vehicle in response to said bar code on said vehicle.
In preferred embodiments, two, preferably three or more gasoline (or other fuel) blending components are delivered to a point adjacent to the point of sale to the motorist and are blended by an apparatus which proportions the flow of individual components in response to signals indicative of the gasoline quality variables, octane, Reid vapor pressure, percent alcohol, etc. The preferred octane for control purposes is motor octane, but pump octane or research octane or any combination of these three may be utilized. Analysis of octane is preferably performed by near-infrared spectroscopy, more preferably NIR operating in the t-butyl/methyne band, and most preferably through a signal which comprises the second derivative of the absorbance in that particular band. Preferred methods of control are proportioning pumps operating in response to an octane or other variable, optional additional input by the consumer, and periodically or continuously reset according to feedback received from the octane measured in the blended fuel. Reid vapor pressure and other gasoline variables are controlled similarly. Setting of the variable speed proportioning pumps in response to information input by the vehicle via bar-code reading, input by the consumer, processing of the NIR absorbance signal, and other quality control-indicative signals for feedback to the proportioning pumps, pricing and calculation of total cost are all well within the state of the art of computer technology.
While the invention will be particularly preferred for use in gasoline dispensing pumps, it may be used for other fuels such as control of cetane in diesel fuel, nitrobenzene, and other alcohol fuels used for automobile racing and even liquified petroleum gases such as blending butane and propane for fuel and heating purposes.